The invention relates generally to food products sold in slice form, and more particularly to a sliced food product having a design formed therein, and a method and apparatus for forming the design in the food slice.
In the past, sliced cheese products such as natural cheese, process cheese, process cheese food, and process cheese spread, as well as sliced meat products such as ham, bologna, salami, and other cold cuts, have typically been packaged and sold in unadorned, simple rectangular or circular shapes.
One of the problems in attempting to provide designs or patterns on slices of food products such as those referred to above is that these products generally have a relatively low tensile strength and therefore are generally susceptible to separating, tearing, and/or breaking during handling. As mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,719, this problem is particularly notable in process cheese spread, due to its high moisture content. Slices of these cheese products are often individually wrapped for consumer sale, and packaged in stacks with a plastic film overwrap.
In any operation involving formation of designs on a slice of one of the above-mentioned products, care must be taken to avoid unduly high stresses and strains which would result in loss of slice integrity, and to avoid creation of tears, cracks, or other discontinuities which could propagate under the stresses associated with later handling and packaging. It is desirable that the slices be capable of withstanding packaging operations which may entail individual wrapping of slices as well as separating, stacking and overwrapping, and that the slices also be capable of withstanding handling by the consumer, i.e., removal of overwrap and individual wrap, without loss of integrity.